In an open letter to the future Premier of British Columbia, companies, unions and non profits have come together to call for a ban on the grizzly bear trophy hunt. Below is the letter and signatories.

May 5, 2017

To the Future Premier of British Columbia,

We, the undersigned, call on the Government of British Columbia to end the trophy hunting of grizzly bears in B.C.

The practice of hunting large, iconic animals simply so that their body parts may be mounted on walls as trophies is widely condemned around the world. Permitting hunters to kill hundreds of B.C. grizzlies per year for this purpose is detrimental not only to the bears’ populations and welfare, but also to the international image that B.C. and the rest of Canada projects to the world.

Furthermore, trophy hunting of grizzly bears has a clear negative effect on B.C.’s economy, both in terms of direct losses of opportunity for the bear-viewing industry–which brings in up to twelve times more direct revenue, and more employment to the province–and in terms of indirect losses to other tourism-related industries such as hospitality, transportation, and food.

In addition to these losses, the Government of B.C. is currently wasting taxpayer dollars on managing this economically harmful hunt, with some estimates indicating that the costs exceed the direct revenues that the hunt brings to the province.

The Government of British Columbia must act in accordance with the wishes of the over 90 percent of B.C. residents who are opposed to the trophy hunting of grizzlies, and implement an immediate moratorium on the current spring bear hunt, and then commit to a short timeline to implement a permanent end to the hunt. These actions will show the world that the province’s policies are in accordance with B.C. and Canadian values that respect nature, and they will increase tourism revenue while eliminating wasteful trophy hunt management costs.